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The IRU is encouraged by important and positive developments in the review of the 2001 Transport White Paper. In particular the Commission has explicitly recognised the critical role that road transport plays within the EU economy and its success in significantly reducing vehicle emissions. The Commission has also shown pragmatism by acknowledging that a forced modal shift policy simply isn’t working.
According to Hubert Linssen, IRU General Delegate to the EU ‘‘Despite these positive developments, I am shocked by the lack of clear political commitment to the Road Transport Industry. Will it take another five years for the Commission to see the light? I am, however, still looking forward to a clearer framework in EU transport policy which fully appreciates that any penalty on the road sector is an even greater penalty on the economy. There is a lot of space in the Commission’s policy toolbox, and we are ready to work in partnership with the Commission in order to help fill this toolbox with new practical instruments and strategies to establish the right transport policy direction for Europe’’. The Commission’s policy on ‘smart charging’ still seems to be based on the false premise that limited road infrastructure can be optimised through road tolls varied according to the time of day. However, transport operators have no real choice over when they use infrastructure. Timing is dependent on shipper delivery schedules and restricted by many different driving bans. Premium tolls for peak periods will not change behaviour but will simply increase costs for transport companies and ultimately the European consumer. Furthermore, the IRU is highly critical of the fact that while the Commission has highlighted the central role of road transport for the economy and the serious financial losses produced by road congestion, too much of the limited TENs budget is being spent on railway infrastructure. The task of filling in the missing links and removing bottlenecks in the EU road network deserves a degree of financial and political support from Brussels, proportionate to the sector’s importance in ensuring the competitiveness of the European economy. The IRU also finds it totally unacceptable that the Commission has once again ignored within its review the largest, safest and most environmentally friendly mode of collective passenger transport – the bus and coach. During the forthcoming debate on the White Paper this sector must be given a renewed central focus. Finally on environmental matters the IRU is fully committed - as part of its sustainable development strategy - to the ‘greening of the fleet’ with the introduction of cleaner vehicles. However, the EU should take careful note of the industry’s own rapid adoption of vehicles fitted with EURO IV and EURO V emission standard engines and recognise the importance of ‘incentive based greening’. The IRU’s General Delegate, Hubert Linssen, said “The best route to a rapid take-up of new cleaner vehicles is through incentives that will encourage operators to ‘green the fleet’ faster than the EU can legislate’’.
Source: IRU
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